Warning on Limited Clearing places for 2012 A-Level Students

A survey by the Guardian has revealed that 13 universities do not expect to have places for A-Level students in clearing and another 3 have said that places will be minimal.

However from the survey of 38 universities, 22 have said that they will be offering places to students with top universities like Queen Mary, University of London, offering 500 places to A-Level students who are applying through clearing.

These results come as a surprise to many as there was a drop in the university applicant in 2012 due to the rise in tuition fees to £9,000 a year. However, there was still more applications than university places available with around 120,000 more A-Level students applying than the places available.

This year a number of sites, including Save the Student, have attempted to clear up and explain the university clearing process to A-Level students in order to help them get the place at university that they want.

Owen Burek, founder of Save the Student, said:

“It's important that students stay calm when receiving their A-Level results. Many will need to act quickly and calmly, which is easier said than done, but there is plenty of help out there, especially from UCAS. You can also read our guide on how to deal with the stress of clearing.”

Every year around 50,000 students submit successful applications through university clearing so the importance of being prepared is clear to see. Students up and down the country will face a struggle for university places which may be even harder considering this latest news on limited spaces.

Changes in the clearing system

Many have put this latest news down to slight changes in the system that allow universities to take as many top performing students as they can that achieve a grade of AAB of above.

These changes mean that many students who just miss out on a university place by one A-Level grade may be left in limbo as their university searches for an alternative top performing student in clearing. In recent years universities may have been willing to take on a student who just missed out on their grades.

UCAS have said that universities admissions offices have been advised to act as quickly as possible in order to make sure students are not left confused or in limbo. They advise that any student who is confused should ring up the university directly or their very own A-Level results helpline.

Whatever your results Save the Student would like to congratulate all of those who are applying to university in 2012. If you are excited about university or just confused as to what to expect then check out our guide to starting university which contains great advice as well as handy articles to take a look through.

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